12 dead, 16 hurt in explosion and fire at Bangladesh factory

Firefighters work to put out the fire at a packaging factory in Tongi industy area outside Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016. A boiler exploded and triggered a fire at a packaging factory near Bangladesh's capital. (AP Photo/A. M. Ahad) (The Associated Press)

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Firefighters work to put out the fire at a packaging factory in Tongi industy area outside Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016. A boiler exploded and triggered a fire at a packaging factory near Bangladesh's capital. (AP Photo/A. M. Ahad) (The Associated Press)

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Firefighters on a ladder spray water to put out the fire at a packaging factory in Tongi industy area outside Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016. A boiler exploded and triggered a fire at a packaging factory near Bangladesh's capital. (AP Photo/A. M. Ahad) (The Associated Press)

NEW DELHI – Officials say a boiler has exploded and triggered a fire at a packaging factory in Bangladesh, leaving at least 12 people dead and 16 others injured.

Fire official Mohammed Rafiquzzaman said several bodies have been recovered from the explosion Saturday at a factory in the Tongi industrial area outside Dhaka.

A doctor on duty at the Tongi Hospital said nine bodies were in the mortuary as officials waited for family members to identify them.

Police said 19 people were brought to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where three of them succumbed to burn injuries sustained in the fire.

Factory safety is a major concern in Bangladesh, which has thousands of garment and packaging factories that supply products to global clothing chains like America's Wal-Mart and Sweden's H&M.